§03§ §07§This book contains the proceedings of the Kalkowsky Symposium 2008, held in Göttingen, Germany. It highlights new ideas and information on the formation and environmental setting of stromatolites. §16§§Stromatolites are the most intriguing geobiological structures of the entire earth history since the beginning of the fossil record in the Archaean. Stromatolites and microbialites are interpreted as biosedimentological remains of biofilms and microbial mats. These structures are important environmental and evolutionary archives which give us information about ancient habitats, biodiversity, and evolution of complex benthic ecosystems. However, many geobiological aspects of these structures are still unknown or only poorly understood. The present proceedings highlight the new ideas and information on the formation and environmental setting of stromatolites presented at the occasion of the Kalkowsky Symposium 2008, held in Göttingen, Germany.§ §02§§Joachim Reitner: Professor (chair) for Paleontology and Geobiology, director of the Department of Geobiology and the Courant Research Centre of Geobiology at the University of Göttingen. Awardee of the DFG G.W.-Leibniz award and ordinary member of the Göttingen Academy of Science. Coordinator of the DFG research unit 571 "Geobiology of Organo- and Biofilms"§ §04§rz et al §Trace element and biomarker signatures in iron-precipitating microbial mats from the tunnel of Äspö (Sweden)§Fossil Record§Adachi et al§Lower Ordovician stromatolites from the Anhui Province of South China: construction and geobiological significance§Kranendonk Van, Martin J.§Morphology as an indictor of biogenicity for 3.5-3.2 Ga fossil stromatolites from the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia§Bouougri, et al§Sedimentology and palaeoecology of Ernietta-bearing Ediacaran deposits in Southern Namibia: Implications for infaunal vendobiont communities§Porada et al §Ediacaran biolamintes from southern Namibia§Reitner et al.§Cloudina-thrombolites from the Zaris Mountains (Southern Namibia)§Serezhnikova E. A.§microbial binding as a probable cause of Taphonomic variability of Vendian fossils: carbonate casting?§Future Aspects.
